By Jimmy Allinder
A collection of outstanding individual performances, especially in the field, have propelled the South River High School baseball team to a Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Blue Division championship.
But the Rams (13-6-1) are hoping the division title — its first in three decades — is just one of many highlights before this season concludes.
South River, the seventh seed in the GMC Tournament, edged 10th-seeded Sayreville War Memorial High School, 5-4, in a first-round game May 16. The Rams moved on to the quarterfinals May 18, when they met second-seeded East Brunswick High School at Community Park in East Brunswick.
South River is also a serious contender for the NJSIAA Group I championship but must first capture the Central Jersey, Group I sectional, where the Rams are the top seed. South River will be the host team for each game it plays in the sectional tournament, which begins May 23.
“We’ve received contributions from a number of players that have led to our success,” head coach Mike Lepore Jr. said. “Tyler Higgins (senior) has been outstanding as our No. 1 pitcher (6-1, 1.74 earned run average), but he is also a superb defensive player when he plays third base.”
Higgins pitched a complete game in the victory over Sayreville, yielding two earned runs and striking out eight. In addition, he went 2-for-3 at the plate and drove in three runs. That brought the senior’s RBI total for the season to 30, which gives him the team leadership.
Others have also performed well at their positions. Sophomore Brandon Szerszen is in his first year as full-time shortstop but has played like a veteran. His diving stop of a sharply hit ground ball to end the game in a win against Carteret High School preserved a no-hitter by senior pitcher Dalton Dougherty.
Szerszen is batting .420 with a team-leading 29 hits and Dougherty, the No. 2 starter (3-2), has a .333 average and 23 RBIs. Junior Nick Errico is the third starter and owns a 3-1 record.
Two others who have excelled are freshman Mike DeSantis, who has played outstanding defense in the outfield and has hit .277, and senior Khaliyl Everett, who is hitting .493 with 31 hits, 18 RBIs and a GMC-leading 13 doubles.
Senior catcher Matt Leviton, who is hitting .415 with 27 hits, collected his 100th career hit in the Rams’ division-clinching, 8-3 victory over Metuchen High School May 2.
Monroe Township High School, the GMC Tournament top seed, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 5-2 victory over 16th-seeded Metuchen. The Falcons’ opponent then was ninth-seeded J.P. Stevens High School, which was on a 12-game winning streak.
In the GMC softball tournament, East Brunswick (16-5) defeated Old Bridge High School, 10-1, to advance to the quarterfinals May 18, when the Bears met 13th-seeded Woodbridge High School at South Plainfield High School.
Second-seeded Monroe won its first-round contest, 3-1, over 15th-seeded Colonia High School and met 10th-seeded Piscataway Township High School, which topped seventh-seeded Spotswood High School in the first round. The Monroe game was played May 18, also at South Plainfield High School.
